Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason's Corner Folks eBook

At that moment Mandy appeared at the door with the
familiar cry, “Supper’s ready,”
and Quincy led Alice to her old place at the table
and took his seat at her side.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Thetownmeeting.

The next day was Friday. After breakfast Quincy
went to his room and looked over the memorandum pad
upon which he had taken pleasure in jotting down the
various items of his campaign against the singing-master.
As he looked at the pad he checked off the items that
he had attended to, but suddenly started back with
an expression of disgust.

“Confound it,” said he, “I neglected
to telegraph to those congressmen when I was at Eastborough
Centre last Tuesday. I hope I’m not too
late.” He reflected for a moment, then
said to himself, “No, it’s all right;
this is the long session, and my friends will be in
Washington.”

He immediately wrote two letters to his Congressional
friends, stating that he had good reasons for having
the appointment of Obadiah Strout as postmaster at
Mason’s Corner, Mass., held up for a week.

“At the end of that time,” he wrote, “I
will either withdraw my objections or present them
in detail, accompanied by affidavits in opposition
to the appointment.”

Having finished the letters, he went downstairs to
the kitchen, and, as usual, found Hiram engaged in
conversation with Mandy.

“You are just the man I want,” said he
to Hiram; “I would like to have you take these
letters to the Mason’s Corner post office and
mail them at once. You can tell Mr. Hill that
the papers relating to the store are nearly ready,
and if he and his son will come here this afternoon
we will execute them. I would like to have you
and Mr. Pettengill on hand as witnesses.”

Hiram started off on his mission, and Quincy returned
to his room and busied himself with the preparation
of the documents for the transfer of the grocery store,
and the making out of the necessary notes to cover
the twenty-five hundred dollars due for the same.

He had not seen Alice at breakfast, nor did she appear
at the dinner table. He had followed the rule
since she came to the house not to make any open inquiries
about her health, but from words dropped by Ezekiel
and Uncle Ike, he had kept fairly well informed as
to the result of her treatment. At dinner Ezekiel
remarked that his sister had commenced to take her
new medicine, and that he reckoned it must be purty
powerful, for she had said that she didn’t wish
anything to eat, and didn’t want anything sent
to her room.

Quincy politely expressed his regrets at her indisposition
and trusted that she would soon be able to join them
again at meal time.